Lemony hummus

SUZANNE S. JONES YOU ASKED FOR IT

May 22, 2008|SUZANNE S. JONES

Q. My family and I recently had dinner at the Mythos Greek Taverna in Coral Springs, and we especially enjoyed the Hummus they serve as an appetizer. I believe it was made with a different bean, not the usual chickpeas and red peppers. Would you please get the chef to share the recipe? - Donna Heder, Coral Springs

A. Dimitrios Lellos, the owner/proprietor of Mythos Greek Taverna, 2864 N. University Drive, Coral Springs, 954-345-9559, is pleased to share the recipe for their Hummus. Great northerns or cannellini are the beans of choice here. We used the great northerns.

Mythos' Hummus will surprise and delight you with its light, lemony flavor and texture.

You will want to make this recipe several hours or the day before you plan to serve it so the flavors have plenty of time to get acquainted. The restaurant serves theirs with toasted pita bread (cut pita bread into triangles and toast them in a 400-degree oven about 8 minutes or until golden), Greek olives and feta cheese. It tastes as good with store-bought crisp crackers or chips.

Sicilian Scampi

Q. My husband and I love the appetizer Sicilian Scampi at the Olive Garden, which is just delicious. I cannot find a recipe for scampi anywhere, and my cookbooks do not have any scampi recipes at all. I sure hope you can help me. - Dorthea DeTeresa, Pompano Beach

A. We were not successful in having Olive Garden share their recipe. However, thanks to a friend who cloned their recipe, we found and tried what we consider a perfect copy.

Petticoat Tails

Q. Some friends and I are planning a cookie exchange/sale to raise money for our church. Someone mentioned Petticoat Tails. I remember they were like a refrigerator sugar cookie that my grandmother used to make. I volunteered to make some, but unfortunately I can't find the recipe. Would you be able to help? - Margrit Heyser, Fort Lauderdale

A. Petticoat Tails have an interesting history. The recipe is said to have been brought from France to Scotland by Mary, Queen of Scots. The French name was Petits Gateaux Tailles, which means "little cakes cut off." But as you can imagine, when pronounced, it sounded to the Scotch and English like Petticoat Tails. They do resemble a more delicate and rich version of the familiar sugar cookie.

Chocolate Brownie Pie

Q. My husband, a chocoholic, ordered the brownie pie at a nice restaurant and has not stopped talking about it since. I asked at the restaurant if they would give me the recipe but was told it was one of their signature desserts.

Alas, I cannot find anything in my recipe collection resembling what he had. I had a bite and it definitely was chocolaty and full of nuts. We sure hope you can come to our rescue. My husband would be so grateful. - Mary Ann Gustafson, Boca Raton

A. We have a super-delicious Chocolate Brownie Pie recipe, again thanks to our late Aunt Jen. She claimed it was an alternative to pecan pie for chocoholics. We just claim it is rich, sinful and habit forming.

Whipped cream

Q. Could you please tell me how I can fix whipped cream ahead of time? A friend said adding gelatin to cream before it was whipped would keep it firm for a long time. - Audrey Rackham, Fort Lauderdale

A. Your friend is correct. Here we offer a recipe for Stabilized Whipped Cream that's good for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.

Ahoy all chocoholics, this one is for you. This is delicious served slightly warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Of course, it is also delicious cold.

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 tablespoons butter

3 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup dark corn syrup

3/4 cup coarse-chopped pecans

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell*

Melt the chocolate with the butter in the top of a double boiler over hot water, or in a heavy saucepan, stirring. Let cool 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, corn syrup and the cooled chocolate mixture together on the medium speed of an electric mixer until well mixed. Stir in the pecans. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell and bake in the center of the oven 40 to 50 minutes or until set. Makes 8 servings.